Great Lengths
by AquaTurquoise
Summary: Sofia accidentally mixes up her new shampoo with a maximizing potion Cedric's been working on, causing her to grow hair longer than Rapunzel ever had, leading to some interesting situations.


Great Lengths

Summary: Sofia accidentally mixes up her new shampoo with a maximizing potion Cedric's been working on, causing her to grow hair longer than Rapunzel ever had, leading to some interesting situations.

Disclaimer: I only own the potion. Nana and Tanya belong to MarionetteJ2X. Everyone else belongs to Craig Gerber.

A/N: Hi, guys! Surprise story after having a little chat with some of my _amigos _from here. I'm not entirely sure HOW we got to this particular conversation, but it seemed fun enough: what if Sofia's hair got much longer than it already was? Like in "Princess Curse?" But she could have way more fun with it now… So, here we are! 😉 Enjoy!

*Story*

"Sofia, do you want to play a few games of chess tonight?" Cedric asked one evening as he and the princess were settled near his fireplace in his room, both Nana and Tanya fast asleep (Tanya in his lap and Nana in Sofia's). "It's been a while since we've done anything like that."

She smiled playfully. "As much as I'd love to, I need to wash my hair before it gets too late. Amber gave me some new strawberry-scented shampoo to try, so I'm kind of excited." She winked at him, causing him to chuckle.

"Very well. Oh, I needed to show you something before you leave though. Let's let them sleep and I can show you what I have been working on."

She nodded. "Okay."

They pulled the covers back on his bed and settled each sleeping girl underneath them, their hearts nearly melting as both Nana and Tanya hugged each other almost immediately.

"From one terrified little Strawbaby to an angry Never Realm reject, I never expected this outcome…" Cedric kissed each girl's forehead before tugging the covers over them.

The princess was pleased to hear her partner using her nickname for Nana. It was just so sweet. "It's definitely the best result we could have had…" Sofia smiled as he took her hand and led her out of his room and back into the workshop. "So, what have you been working on?"

"Take a look." He withdrew a white bottle with a cork in the top. The bottle itself had a black outline of a small waterdrop and a large water drop side by side. "This is a maximizing potion." He uncorked the bottle and tipped it ever so slightly, but not enough for anything to pour out. "It can quite literally maximize (or grow, I should say) just about anything: hair, nails, tables—"

"Okay, I'm going to need about five bottles so _I _can grow." She grinned as he rolled his eyes. "Cedric, I'm the shortest one in my family. Even Corban will outgrow me eventually. Maybe this is the answer to my problem!"

Cedric laughed. "I don't think so, my dear. It could severely harm you if you tried to use it in that manner, especially considering all the internal organs that it could negatively affect. Besides…" He reached out and gently grasped her chin, placing a kiss on the crown of her head. "You're the perfect height for me." He began blushing as he heard her small gasp, and he hesitantly lowered his arm. "Er, I mean…"

Sofia felt her cheeks warm up a bit, but she smiled at him. "I get it." She wrapped her arms around him, giggling as she eventually felt him return the affectionate gesture. "I'm huggable."

"No denying that…" He twirled his fingers in some of her ponytailed hair before smiling down at her. "As I was saying, you're perfectly fine the way you are."

She grinned. "Thanks, Cedric. Oh, since you shared, _you _need to smell this shampoo Amber got me. _Tell _me it doesn't smell just like strawberries." She grabbed a small bag she'd carried around most of the day, which contained currently empty food containers from lunch several hours ago, an extra pair of comfy shoes, a brush, and several other random items. She withdrew a bottle that looked similar to Cedric's potion bottle, though it had a strawberry painted on the side of its milky white surface. She uncorked the top and held it up to Cedric. "Here, smell this."

Cedric slowly inhaled, sighing in delight as he smiled. "Oh, it certainly does… It's a lovely scent. But why have you been carrying that around all day?"

"Because I love the way it smells." She laughed sheepishly as he shook his head. "And she gave it to me this morning, and I didn't have time to put it in my room."

"Ah, I see." He shrugged. "If you say so. Anyway, the girls can stay with me tonight." He gently tugged on her ponytail. "You go wash your hair with your precious strawberry shampoo, and I will see you tomorrow."

Sofia placed her shampoo on the table and practically tackled her partner in a hug, sighing as he returned the favor, his head resting on hers. "Okay. Sleep well." After they finished hugging, she grabbed her bag and turned to leave.

"Oh, Sofia, wait." He gestured toward the table. "Don't forget this oh-so-delightful shampoo of yours." He smirked as she rolled her eyes and walked over, grabbing one of the bottles and pushing it into her bag. "Wouldn't want to deny you your strawberry scented goodness."

She grinned, leaning forward and kissing his cheek, causing him to blush. "Thanks, Cedric. See you tomorrow." She turned and exited the workshop, shutting the door behind her.

Cedric smiled before dousing the lighting in the workshop and heading toward his bedchambers, the potion not even on his radar as he turned in for the night.

* * *

"I'm so sorry to ask for your help so late at night, Violet," Sofia apologized again, sighing as she watched the stewardess and a few maids finish drawing her bath and laying out all the necessities, including her pajamas and towels, and the white bottle on the side of the tub. "It's just been a long day, and…"

"It's fine, Princess Sofia," Violet assured her, smiling at the younger girl. "I remember when Queen Lorelei spent so long outside one day goin' on an adventure with your father, and she almost went to bed without bathing, but Mr. Baileywick wouldn't hear of it. He would not have our queen being all grimy and uncomfortable before bed, and neither will we allow that to happen to you. Besides, it's part of the job, and you asked _so _nicely." She playfully nudged Sofia, who giggled as Violet and the others were heading toward the door. "If I could ask just one favor?"

Sofia nodded. "What's that?"

"Let's try to keep the floor dry. It becomes a royal mess to clean up otherwise."

She laughed. "I promise. Thanks, Violet." After all the women left, she turned the key in the lock for privacy and walked back to the large tub. Immediately, she could feel the heat from the water, and it offered her chilled body some comfort. With it now being February, the temperature was still rather cold, so any bit of warmth she could get, she'd take it.

Sofia reached up and untied her hair from its ponytail, shaking out the wavy locks as they fell to their full length around her knees. She ran her fingers through her hair a few times before grabbing a nearby brush, finishing her detangling process. When she was satisfied, she set the brush aside and disrobed, sliding into the heated water, the surface filled with some soapy bubbles as well as a few flower petals for fragrance.

The princess held her breath and sank under the water, submerging her entire body beneath the surface for a few seconds. When she broke the surface again, she coughed a few times before brushing some of her wet hair from her face.

After bathing, she grabbed the white bottle on the tub and uncorked it, tilting it over and letting some of the lavender-colored substance fall into her palm. "Weird, you'd think it would be pink or red if it's strawberry scented." She lifted it to her hand and inhaled, sighing. It didn't really smell like strawberries anymore. It was a much milder scent that she couldn't place. "Well, it's not as strong of a scent as it was earlier, but I guess it's still fine." With that, she massaged the shampoo into her scalp before proceeding to spread it throughout the length of her hair. She repeated the process a couple of times to ensure full coverage and finally rinsed out the product.

To prevent any spills, she corked the bottle again and spent a few minutes just relaxing her tired body in the warm water, her eyes closed as the fizzing bubbles hovered near her ears and the flower petals enticed her with their sweet perfume. She felt a slight tingling in her scalp, but it soon disappeared, and she didn't think anything else of it.

After several minutes, Sofia finally drained the tub and stepped onto a bathmat, her body and hair dripping with water. She leaned over the tub and wrung out her hair as best as she could before wrapping it in a large towel. She then used an extra one to dry her body before putting on her underclothing and pajamas. She brushed her teeth and washed her face afterwards. After ensuring that no water was on the floor, she walked to the door, unlocked it, and returned to her room.

Sofia sat on her window seat and spent several minutes towel-drying her hair with the utmost ease and care. However, since the process was taking so long and she still needed to go to bed, she decided to speed up the process. She grabbed her wand from her bag and cast a drying spell, pleased that it worked so quickly. "There. Now I just need to get some sleep." She yawned as she walked over to her bed, sliding under the covers. It was weird not having the girls near her like always, but she was thankfully so tired that she didn't allow herself to dwell on it for too long. Before long, she was asleep.

* * *

The next morning, the sun peeped through the partially drawn curtains, illuminating Sofia's bedroom. The princess was still asleep, though the light hitting her eyelids did cause her to stir. She blinked a few times, yawning as she sat up and stretched.

She pushed her covers back and turned to lower her legs over the side, and as she did, she noticed something odd. Her hair was trailing down over her mattress and near her legs. That wasn't the odd part. She was used to that. It was the several other feet of hair that followed it and spread all over her bedroom floor that astonished and alarmed her.

Sofia's mouth dropped, her eyes widening as she slid to the floor. "W-What…?" She moved farther from her bed, her heart racing in confusion and disbelief as she stared at the auburn waves that now coated her floor. "Am I cursed again? Did Rapunzel decide to play a prank on me?!" She looked around, trying to see if there were any clues for solving this extremely weird puzzle or mystery. Nothing. There was nothing.

Thinking fast, she grabbed her amulet. "I wish my hair was back to normal!" She waited. And waited. And waited… Nothing happened. "Seriously?!" She glared at the innocent jewel in her hands. "You grant _any _other wish, but not this one?"

Exasperated, she dropped her amulet and moved over to her vanity before rummaging through one of the drawers, withdrawing a pair of shears. She bit her lip as she twisted the excess locks, sitting down on her stool to evaluate the situation. She measured her hair to where it should typically fall around her knees and inhaled sharply, the blades of the sheers closing down over the other hair that was absolutely _not _hers.

Her eyes widened as the shears literally broke apart and clattered onto the floor. "Oh, my gosh… This is beyond weird…" She couldn't even cut the hair. It was like it was magically protected or something. "Magic… Cedric."

She knew she'd have to go to him for help, but how in the Ever Realm was she supposed to get up to his workshop without one, someone else seeing, and two, getting all the extra hair snagged on every little thing? She sighed. "Well, hopefully magic can work on _this_ at least." She grabbed her amulet. "I wish my hair was braided in a secure way so that I won't fall."

The amulet reacted and granted her wish, wrapping a few braided sections around the base of a makeshift ponytail and braiding the locks the rest of the way until maybe two or three feet of hair still remained on the floor.

"Oh, sure. _That _you can manage. Well… Better than nothing, I guess." She stood up and shook her head. "Yeah, a lot heavier than usual… A few feet I can handle. What's this? A hundred feet? How did Rapunzel do it for all those years?" She grabbed her wand and slid on some slippers, ducking out of her room without even bothering to change into her usual outfit.

* * *

Cedric was already awake, feeding Nana and Tanya breakfast as they sat around the rolling table. He poured some syrup over Nana's pancakes, smiling as she clapped with an excited expression on her face. "Of course you prefer the sweet things. Eat up, my darlings. Sofia should be here soon."

"I am sorry we fell asleep on you guys, Papa," Tanya said with a soft smile. "I guess we were tired."

"It's fine, Tanya. No harm done." He looked up as he heard a hasty knock on his door. "It's open!" He blinked as Sofia hurried in, still in her pajama shirt and pants. "Sofia?" He could tell by the panicked look on her face that something was wrong. "Um, girls… Go wait in my bedroom, all right? Your Mama and I need to have a talk."

"Okay, Papa." Tanya giggled as Nana pouted, setting down her little fork (she'd been about to take a big bite of pancake but was now denied it). She took the smaller girl's hand and led her off to Cedric's bedroom, leaving their guardians behind.

"Sofia, what's wrong?" Cedric asked, noticing her frazzled features. He approached her carefully, grasping her arms. "What happened?"

"I have no idea, but I'm hoping you can tell me…" She slid out of his arms and turned around, pointing at her hair.

The sorcerer's eyes widened, and his mouth dropped. "Wow…" He laughed sheepishly. "We've, um… We've been through this once before, haven't we?"

"Yeah… I cursed myself by accident, but I didn't do that this time… I didn't read any weird spells from books or anything like that. I just washed my hair last night and went to bed. And then I woke up looking like Rapunzel's little sister!"

Cedric hummed thoughtfully, reaching out and gently caressing the intricately braided hair. "You already have beautiful hair on your own, and this just highlights that…"

Sofia sighed, turning back around, her hair sliding from his hands. "Cedric, _focus_. I need to know what happened, but more importantly, I need to know how to fix this! I love having long hair, but _this _is too much!"

"All right, all right, let's think…" He folded his arms. "You said you washed your hair. With that new shampoo your sister got you, I take it?" Seeing her nod, he frowned. "What's the active ingredient in it?"

She blinked at his question before shrugging. "I don't know. Strawberries? Although…it didn't really smell like strawberries when I used it last night, which was weird. It was a lot softer. And the color was lavender, which…"

"Lavender…" He tilted his head. "For a _strawberry_ shampoo?" He paused, his eyes wide. "Wait." He walked back over to the table, where he'd left the potion bottle from last night, and picked it up. Turning it over, he saw a strawberry on the side. Which could only mean… "Sofia, you didn't use shampoo on your hair last night." He looked up at her. "You used the maximizing potion."

Her mouth dropped. "I… You mean to tell me that this…" She picked up her hair. "…is because of that maximizing potion of yours?"

"How much did you use?"

She sighed, thinking back. "A few handfuls…" Hearing him gasp, she frowned. "It's not that unusual, Cedric. I have a lot of hair."

"Well, you certainly do now…" He shook his head. "That potion only calls for a few drops to make a difference. A few _handfuls_ would create a potential chaotic outcome."

"Really?" she drawled sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Hadn't noticed." She groaned in dismay. "I even tried to cut it back to my normal length, and I broke the shears!"

Cedric snickered. "I think it's trying to tell you something, then…" He walked up behind her, caressing his fingers over her braid again before pulling the rest of the length up, untying it.

"What are you doing?" she asked, mildly miffed but also a bit curious.

"I want to see exactly what sort of situation you've gotten yourself into."

"_Me_? It's _your _potion…" She turned and watched as he unwove her hair slowly and gently. "Which, admittedly, _I _grabbed by accident, but still…" She patiently watched as he, after several minutes, unbraided the entire length of her hair. It now pooled around both of them, weaving around them and the various items in the workshop. "This…is _so_ weird…"

"I know…" He smiled gently at her as she sighed. "Don't worry, Sofia. We'll figure out how to get your hair back to normal. _Again_."

She finally allowed herself to laugh, shaking her head. "Why me?"

Cedric chuckled before hearing a shuffle behind them, followed by a couple of gasps. Turning, he saw Nana and Tanya standing there, their mouths hanging open and their eyes wide. "Girls…"

"Wow!" Tanya breathed, clearly shocked. "Mama, what happened?"

"Heh… It's a long story, Tanya. Basically, a potion gone wrong… Sort of." She then gasped as Nana ran toward her, grabbing a few handfuls of hair and twirling around with it. "Oh, Nana…" She laughed as the little one then used the same hair to climb up to her shoulder, where she sat and hugged her guardian's head. "I know, sweetie… This is just weird for all of us."

"Girls, why don't you go stay with your Aunt Cordelia for a while?" Cedric suggested as the girls turned to look at him. "It may take me a while to figure out how to get your Mama's hair back to normal, and we'll need to concentrate and test out a few things."

"All right, Papa." Tanya smiled as Nana grabbed hold of some of Sofia's hair, climbing down to the floor again. She took her sister's hand and looked up at the adults. "Please come get us when things are normal again."

Sofia snickered. "Normal in _this_ family…is almost impossible. But we will, sweetie. Don't worry." She hugged both girls, watching as they then hugged Cedric, before they left to find Cordelia in the castle. "Cedric…" She frowned as he walked away from her, heading over to the opened window at the top of the staircase. "What are you doing?" she asked as he leaned out the window a bit, looking down.

"This reminds me of an eerily similar situation, which I'm sure you have noticed… The parallels are there, and I have an intriguing idea…"

She blinked in confusion until she saw him turn and lean over the railing, smiling mischievously down at her. "Oh, no way."

He grinned. "Come on, Sofia! This could be fun!"

"For _you_, maybe… Sure, the shears didn't cut it, but watch you yank every last hair out of my head after tugging so hard."

"I doubt that is even _remotely_ a possibility." He moved down the staircase to stand next to her again.

She sighed heavily. She wasn't entirely sure what he hoped to gain by doing this, but he seemed enthralled by the idea (which was rare), so she decided to humor him. For now. "Fine… But only _one_ time, and after that, we work on figuring out how to get my hair back to normal. Agreed?" She frowned as she noticed Cedric absently playing with a long lock of her hair. "_Cedric_!"

"Oh!" He blushed as he dropped her hair, grinning sheepishly and nodding. "Y-Yes, Sofia! Agreed! Heh…"

Sofia rolled her eyes. "I can't believe I'm doing this…" She sighed. "Go outside. And for my sake, don't pull hard, okay?" She smiled as he reached out and pulled her toward him, placing a kiss to her forehead as he hugged her. "Hmm…"

"I promise." With that, he left the workshop, shutting the door behind him.

She shook her head. "I don't know _what_ his deal is, but…" She giggled softly, remembering his reaction to her catching him playing with her hair. "That was kind of…adorable." She hummed to herself as she ascended the staircase, her hair trailing along behind her and looping around the stairs and railing as she did.

* * *

Cedric made it outside and around the back of his tower, where he could see the open window rather high up. "Wow… I…didn't realize how tall my tower actually was until now." He gulped. "Um, maybe…this wasn't such a good idea…"

"Cedric!"

He backed up a bit, holding one hand up to his eyes so that he could see better against the sun. "Heh, hi, Sofia!"

Sofia rolled her eyes with a playful smile as she held onto the window. "You ready?"

"Sure!" He looked away, muttering, "As I'll ever be…" He looked back up at her. "Go ahead, Sofia." He backed up a bit more and watched as her new expanse of hair tumbled out the tower, down the wall, curling about a foot away from the ground. "Wow… That's about a hundred feet, all right…" He glanced up, noticing his partner bracing herself against the inside wall. "Hold on."

"Understatement of the century," she called back, sounding as sarcastic yet lively as ever. "Hurry."

Cedric took a handful of her hair and twisted it in his hands a bit before proceeding to climb up his tower. He was doing fine until a wave of dizziness overtook him, and panic slowly began setting in. Oh, right. He wasn't the best with heights… _Why _had he been so set on doing this again?

"Are you guys seeing what I'm seeing?" James asked Amber and Desmond as they sat at a distance with Alamea, who was watching a few ducks walking around the grass. They'd all been eating brunch when they noticed the stir from the tower nearby. "That's Cedric, climbing up the tower…"

"And is that _hair _hanging out of the window?" Amber wondered, her eyes wide. "It almost looks like _Sofia's_ hair, but that's impossible, right?"

Desmond laughed. "Well… They _are _sorcerers in command of powerful magic, and they are also pretty adventurous, so I wouldn't put it past them."

James scoffed. "Okay, I'll give them 'adventurous,' but if they're doing what I think they're doing, that's beyond _adventurous_; that's just _weird_."

The princess smirked. "Let's put it this way, dear brother: they'll never be bored… Sofia's pretty creative, and it looks like Cedric will go along with just about anything."

"And what if that was _his_ idea?" Desmond wondered.

The blonde princess grinned. "Well… Then he has far more of an imagination than I gave him credit for."

James tapped his chin. "They _could_ be rehearsing for a play or something… Or reenacting a story for Tanya and Nana. Rapunzel's story, maybe?"

"Oh, that's probably it," the other prince agreed.

The future queen laughed. "That _does_ make sense…" She shrugged. "Well, either way, they sure do keep things interesting around here."

James snickered as he watched Cedric near the top of the tower, his hand reaching out to grasp Sofia's. "I'll say."

Sofia yelped as she took Cedric's hand, and he practically propelled himself in through the window. She fell backwards with him on top of her, both of them covered in several feet of her hair. "Ow…"

Cedric glanced down and noticed Sofia under him, and he smiled sheepishly before moving to the floor, helping her sit up. "I'm sorry… Halfway up, I remembered that I have a rather…tremendous fear of heights, especially when I literally have nothing to catch me if I fall."

She sighed, rolling her eyes. "_I_ could have told you that, but you were _so _excited to try to be Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. Or Eugene. Or whatever his name is…"

He laughed, reaching out to stroke her cheek. "Incidentally, if you had ever been in Princess Rapunzel's situation… I would have saved you from the tower. No one deserves to be cooped up here, especially you…"

Sofia blushed modestly as she smiled fondly at him. "Cedric…" She giggled as he stood up, taking her hands and pulling her to her feet as well. "You're sweet when you want to be."

Cedric chuckled and kissed her hand. "Must be the company I keep."

Her blush deepened as she laughed. "Would you stop that? We have work to do."

"I know, but consider this." He moved over to the window and began hauling the rest of her hair inside. When he finished, he shut the window and walked back to Sofia, taking her hand and guiding her down the staircase. "If you work this right, you _could _have a new tool as a Protector. Need to capture a suspect? Just use your hair like a lasso and _voilà_! Job well done."

Sofia smirked as she let go of his hand, allowing him to get a bit ahead of her. "Oh, you mean like this?"

He turned just in time to see several feet of hair tossed toward him, looping around him rather tightly. He gulped as Sofia continued smirking and slowly approached him, her hold on her hair secure and her gaze dangerous. "Eh, Sofia… When I said to capture a suspect, I didn't mean _me_…"

"Oh, I know…" She soon stood toe to toe with him, her blue eyes locked on his startled brown ones. "I just think I found a far more useful purpose for it instead of the Protector angle."

Cedric blushed this time, not sure how to respond to her comment. "P-Perhaps you were right, Sofia… We should…work on getting your hair back to normal."

"But why?" she teased, reaching up and wrapping her arms around his neck, smiling a little too sweetly. "This is so much more fun. _You_ were right." She traced her fingers through his hair and across his neck. "We should make the most of this…"

His blush darkened. "S-_Sofia_!"

Sofia laughed, releasing him from his brief captivity. "I'm just kidding, Cedric. Come on." She took his arm and walked with him over to the table. "Now… If there's a _maximizing_ potion, I'm assuming there's a _minimizing_ potion. I guess it's that whole parallel thing that magic always seems to project."

He nodded. "Well, yes, but… You wouldn't want a minimizing potion for your predicament, Sofia. It would do its job and literally minimize what you currently have, and you'd most likely be left with nothing."

Sofia whimpered and held onto her hair. "So… How do we fix this?"

"We create a _normalizing_ potion… It staves off the effects of either of those potions and gets things back to…well, normal."

She sighed and nodded. "Okay, good. That's exactly what I want: things to go back to normal." She eyed him curiously. "What all do we need?"

* * *

Cedric and Sofia worked together for quite a while, gathering necessary ingredients and tossing them into a tinier cauldron on his worktable; the brew was already slowly simmering, emitting a warm pink steam and a pleasant aroma (like just the right amount of vanilla and spices). When they'd finished, Cedric poured the potion into a bottle similar to the maximizing potion and handed it to Sofia.

"So… Do I drink it, or…?"

He shook his head. "You need to pour it on your head and coat your hair to your actual length. After five minutes, your hair will return to normal."

She bit her lip as she looked from the potion to him. "You're sure?"

Cedric smiled and nodded, placing his hand over hers. "I promise. And this isn't like the case with Cordelia, if it makes you feel any better."

She laughed airily. "Yeah, kind of."

"In fact, if you want some help…"

The princess's concerned look morphed into one of mild amusement and delight. "Any excuse to play with my hair, huh, Cedric?" She pressed the bottle into his hands and grinned as he blushed.

"Well, I—"

"It's okay, Cedric." She winked, causing him to blink. "I'm just playing. And thank you."

He released a breath and smiled kindly at her. "Of course, my dear. Now… Stand still." He walked behind her and uncorked the bottle, pouring the first bit of it directly onto her head. "Oh, wait." He quickly removed his gloves and tossed them onto the table before pouring a generous amount of potion into his hand. After setting the bottle down, he rubbed his hands together and began coating her hair from her scalp downward. He didn't miss a single strand as he worked at his chore, aiming to get things back to normal for her (and everyone, really).

He used his foot to roll over his chair and sat down, continuing his task of covering Sofia's hair in the potion. He finally made it around her knees (her normal length) and looked up at her as she glanced in his direction. "Is this about right, or would you prefer floor length?" He grinned as she gaped at him.

"Don't you dare," she half joked and half scolded. "People already joke about me being the 'new Rapunzel.' I can't imagine what they'd say if my hair reached the floor… I can't imagine what they'd say if they saw it like _this. _So, I think let's just stick to my actual length." She smiled. "Sorry to disappoint you, Cedric."

Cedric scoffed with a roll of his eyes. "Suit yourself. I thought you didn't care what people thought of you anyway." He then smiled as she giggled before finishing his task and magically removing the remainder of the potion from his hands. "There. Within five minutes, everything should be back to normal."

"Oh, good." Sofia pointed toward the tumble of hair that had settled across his floor, on his staircase, and even in the crevices of some books and other items (though she wasn't sure how that had happened). "Because that was getting a bit ridiculous." She folded her arms. "And after this?"

"I think you should get dressed…"

She blinked at his strange comment before glancing down, blushing. "Oh, good grief… I am so sorry, Cedric… I forgot I was in my pajamas…"

He chuckled. "It's fine, Sofia. They're perfectly modest." He shrugged. "But if your father sees…"

She groaned in dismay, shaking her head. "I know. I know…" She smiled tiredly at him. "I guess I'll just have to explain." She then lowered one hand to her stomach and sighed. "I didn't even get to eat anything yet today."

Cedric smiled. "We'll take care of that. Once you're dressed, we'll find the girls and go on a picnic. How does that sound?"

She nodded happily. "Sounds wonderful." The princess stepped forward, slowly enveloping her sorcerer in her embrace as she hugged him and smiled gently up at him. "Thanks for being patient with all of this. I know it couldn't have been easy."

"Maybe not." He smirked lightly. "But it was sort of fun."

Sofia laughed. "You're weird."

They chatted calmly for a few more minutes before Sofia slowly grew quiet. Cedric soon understood why as he watched the potion work its literal magic and change her hair back to its normal length. The potion soon vanished, leaving her hair clean and vibrant (and surprisingly tangle-free, considering all it had been through the last little while).

"Ah, that's better." She laughed as she shook her head, grinning as she felt her hair brush against her legs through the pajama bottoms. "I've said it before, and I'll say it again." She kissed Cedric's cheek, giggling as he blinked at her. "You're the best, Cedric."

"W-Well…" He chuckled, reaching behind her and gently running his hands through her hair as he smiled at her. "I do try my best…especially for you."

She smiled. "You don't have to flatter me, Cedric. I already love you."

He was a bit taken aback by the way she'd said that, but he decided to carry on like normal. "Oh, do you?" He pulled her toward him, resting his head on top of hers as she laid her head against his chest. "I love you too, Sofia…"

Her smile never wavered. "I know."

* * *

Cedric and Sofia finally met up with their girls later to eat and have some bonding time yet again. They were picnicking in the ballroom today, since snow had started falling outside. All was going well until Tanya ventured a question neither saw coming.

"Papa, are you going to get Mama something for this volley-times day coming up?" the white-haired girl asked sweetly. "It is all Princess Amber has spoken of recently."

"Volley—oh, Valentine's Day?" He blinked as Sofia glanced at him curiously, and he laughed nervously. "W-Well…" He then cleared his throat. "I suppose you'll just have to find out."

Sofia smiled as Nana crawled into her lap, a knowing look on her features. "I guess I will."

The end


End file.
